Kodama Autopilot™
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About
Kodama Systems is a technology company transforming the forestry industry with teleoperation and supervised autonomy. Their Kodama Autopilot™ retrofit control system allows remote operation of machinery, improving safety, reducing costs, and addressing labor challenges. Their solutions provide scalable, cost-effective tools for forest management and wildfire mitigation.
Platform
Features
• teleoperation
• reduced costs
• remote operation of forestry equipment
• addresses labor challenges
• improved safety
• supervised autonomy
FAQs
What do healthy forests look like?
Healthy forests have resilience and species diversity, allowing self-perpetuation. They have cleaner floors, patchy mosaics of different-aged trees, areas of open canopy, and diverse vegetation communities. These characteristics foster resistance to disturbances.
What do forests look like today?
Many Western U.S. forests are overgrown with large stretches of homogeneous, fire-intolerant species, more dead trees from beetle infestations and drought, and overstocked forest floors creating continuous vegetation to the canopy. These are considered “ladder fuels.”
What caused these current conditions?
Decades of fire suppression, climate change stressors, and select land management practices have changed forest composition, making them unbalanced and more prone to high-intensity wildfires.
Shouldn’t we just leave forests alone?
Human intervention is needed to restore forests. Science-driven methodologies combined with holistic stewardship practices can sustain human needs while adapting forested ecosystems to climate change.
What does “forest restoration” entail?
Forest restoration involves mechanical thinning, prescribed burning, grazing, habitat monitoring, and reforestation. Thinning reduces tree stand density and competition for resources. Prescribed fire removes excess vegetation, promoting regeneration and nutrient recycling.
Is forest thinning alone sufficient to mitigate wildfire hazard?
No. Forest thinning is the first step. It reduces fuel. Prescribed burning reintroduces low-to-moderate severity wildfire. Home hardening, defensible space, and prevention education are also needed.
What are the challenges to scaling forest restoration?
Challenges to scaling forest restoration include a shrinking workforce and few viable uses for woody residues hindering project economics.
What does Kodama do?
Kodama creates forest management solutions improving safety and productivity of remote operations by automating machinery, implementing teleoperations, and bolstering remote-site connectivity.
Is forest thinning a source of carbon emissions?
Yes, but forest management practices that implement expanded thinning operations reduce wildfire emissions. Carbon accounting frameworks are in development to quantify "avoided wildfire emissions".
What about the impact of operations on wildlife habitats?
Registered professional foresters (RPFs) prepare forest management plans to reduce impact on the operating environment, including following best available science and environmental review guidelines.
Are wildfires really a net source of carbon emissions?
Wildfires emit alarmingly high levels of greenhouse gases. Frequent, high-severity wildfires coupled with climate stressors may cause forested landscapes to convert to shrubland and grassland, losing key carbon storage properties.
How can you help?
Private forest owners can explore resources to assess land conditions and develop management plans. Nonprofits can seek capacity-building partnerships. Individuals can get involved in community wildfire prevention initiatives.
Job Opportunities
Senior Mechanical Engineer
Kodama Autopilot™ is a retrofit control system for forestry equipment enabling remote operation, improving safety and reducing costs.
Benefits:
Generous stock options
Flexible time off
Full health insurance benefits
401K savings plan
Experience Requirements:
Experience owning multiple mechanical designs from concept through deployment
Designed electrical enclosures
Previously worked at a startup
Around 5 years of post undergraduate experience
Other Requirements:
Experience with sheet metal, weldments, and machined parts
Responsibilities:
Own the design of custom hardware to outfit various forestry equipment for teleoperation and autonomy
Work with our operations team to help debug complex robotic systems deployed in remote locations across North America
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